200: What's the worst that could happen?

"Tell me why," Kasenhis asked, frowning.

"You're asking me to reconstruct my mindset from when I was a student—that's a bit much. But I do remember the facts. Basically, Snape had really poor hygiene at the time… though honestly, he still kind of does. And back then, he didn't have many friends, wasn't exactly a joy to be around, barely spoke a word most days. Also... uh..." Sirius trailed off awkwardly.

"What?" Kasenhis asked.

"Harry's mum, Lily, was Snape's only real friend back then. And at the same time, James had his eye on her... He was a bit ahead of his years, honestly. Even if he never said it outright, I'm pretty sure James already liked Lily in our first year. So naturally, James saw Snape as a rival."

"And then you all went on to commit schoolyard bullying? Ugh... I really get Snape now. And the fact that he managed to stay sane? I'm honestly impressed," Kasenhis said helplessly.

"Weeelllll.... You could put it that way, but I think 'mutual beatdowns' might be a more accurate term. I mean, that guy didn't have many redeeming qualities, but he could fight. Sometimes even the three of us weren't enough to take him. But after that one incident, we really started dominating."

"What incident?"

Sirius nodded. "James finally managed to ask Lily out. Around that time, we'd just learned a few new spells. One of them was called Levicorpus - the Levitation Hex—you know, the one that dangles people upside down. After class, we found Snape and decided to, uh... try it out. Basically, we humiliated him. Then Lily showed up. She told James to put Snape down."

"That's one hell of a Korean drama—What happened next!?" Suddenly Kasenhis puled out a caremel pop corn bucket out of his arse.

"But back then, Snape was probably too angry."

"Oh? Did Lily soothe him and make James jealous? Or did she lash out at James for doing that to Snape? A love rival, that explains his hatred—I can smell the plot from here—"

"Um, Nope, as I said, Snape was too angry and lost his temper, got irrational, and ended up arguing with Lily."

"He called her a 'Mudblood'… and that's when the grudge between us really set in and never went away."

"What?! So.. you guys tried to explain things or—Did you do anything?"

"..." Sirius looked at the ground.

Kasenhis smacked Sirius with that popcorn bucket. "A whole chain of arrogance and misunderstanding turned into a moment of emotional stupidity… And once your name is cleared, I'm putting up a sign outside my office that says 'No Sirius or Dogs Allowed.' Because the bullying you did back then—I've never even heard of that in the orphanage primary school I grew up in. Pulling someone's trousers down in public? At least in the orphanage, they did that in the bathroom. Yet not apologising to him and clearing the misunderstanding with Lily?"

"Uh… but.."

"Don't talk to me for now, Mr. Scumbag."

Sirius looked a little awkward. "We bullied Snape. That was wrong. But that doesn't mean Snape was right either, does it? He was hanging around with Death Eaters back then."

"Accordingly, yes—Severus was in the wrong. But that doesn't make your bullying any less disgusting. Bullying is bullying. What you should've done was wait until he actually became a Death Eater and then deliver him straight to Death's door. Not all that schoolyard humiliation crap… I just don't like you," Kasenhis replied.

"Yeah, he did become a Death Eater eventually. Still don't know how he survived till now. Bloody ridiculous."

"Just speaking objectively—honestly, I disapprove of both your groups, whether in your student days or now as professors," Kasenhis said with a curl of his lip.

"I remember you and Snape getting along pretty well, no?"

"Just because I get along with him doesn't mean I agree with the way he takes points off other houses for no good reason. Same way, just because I don't dislike you doesn't mean I agree with your past bullying," Kasenhis explained.

"So.. you don't dislike me then?"

"I just told you that I hate you!"

"Alright, alright… But at least Lupin never did anything humiliating. He and Snape just had regular fistfights. You could say their relationship was the most 'civilized' of the lot."

"What's that saying again?" Kasenhis rubbed his chin. "Hate by association. They don't get along now either, but at least they can sit at the same table for a meal."

"Oh, I get it already. Can we please change the subject? Let's stop talking about Snape. Let's talk about how I can clear things up with Harry," Sirius said, lounging on the couch.

"Just tell him the truth, and he'll forgive you. Oh, and that rat is Ron's pet—you'd better keep quiet and avoid being seen by any of them."

"No problem. Anything else I should do?" Sirius waved lazily.

"If you're feeling idle, go check out the greenhouse. Sprinkle some extra bonemeal."

"Alright…" Sirius grumbled in resignation.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The next morning...

Within a collective Disillusionment Charm, every person inside the field could see each other, but outsiders couldn't see them at all.

One of the wizards, cloaked in black with his face hidden, muttered nervously, "I mean… are we seriously breaking into Hogwarts in broad daylight? Are we sure this is okay?"

"You don't get it. To those powerful wizards, magic glows brighter at night—it's way more visible. We don't have Invisibility Cloaks, so daylight's our best bet. And it's Christmas, isn't it? Dumbledore and the four Heads of House aren't even around. I heard there's only some Alchemy professor in the castle. What's the worst that could happen?" another one scoffed.

"Fair enough. Just some Alchemy professor. Can't be that tough… might not even see us coming."

Kasenhis was perched high up on a ledge of Hogwarts, one knee bent, peering through a monocle at the dozen or so faint, glowing magical dots emerging from the Forbidden Forest.

Each of those dots was pretty dim—definitely the kind that looked easy to smack around. The only reason he hadn't made a move yet was to confirm whether there were any stragglers still hiding in the forest.

Until, finally, the group of dark wizards was already sneaking up to the edge of Hogwarts itself, and still no other magic signatures came out of the forest.

So Kasenhis casually used Ender Blink and appeared right above the group—floating in midair.

The spell Kasenhis had just edited last night was casually tossed down.

Almost instantly, a brilliant azure ripple crackled with arcs of lightning as it expanded from the center.

The electric chains connected every one of the intruders—and then a second spell descended from the sky.

A pitch-black singularity formed above their heads, its terrifying pull dragging them in without resistance.

Wind, fire, and thunder raged together as the singularity seemingly decided it was time—collapsing down in a devastating shockwave.

"Karkaroff's magical signature isn't this weak… He must've gone to Dumbledore's side. Still, this patch of land could be good for Hagrid to grow something," Kasenhis muttered as he landed, looking at the rich soil beneath his feet.

At the same time, in Gryffindor Tower...

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